Safety latch



July 4, 1950 c. c. HEMPFLING 2,513,483

SAFETY LATCH Filed NOV. l2, 1947 ATTE! R N EYS Patented `uly 4, 1955()UNITED STATES OFFICE.

`sAFE'rY LATCHvr Curtis o. Hempning, Butlenr. Application November 12,1947,' Serial No. 7185,28??` This invention relates to door latchesvparticularly for motor vehicles ofv the four doortype havingy front andrear doors, and in particular a latchv4 for holding the rear doorsclosed until a front door is opened.

The purpose f this invention is to prevent a child in the rear seat of amotor vehicle opening one of the rear doors of the vehicle and fallingout.

Various types of locks andlatches havebeen devised for locking the reardoors of motor vehicles but these have not been accepted universally asthey are usually in the form of attachments or where` they areincorporated in the door or Wall of` the vehicle it is impossible to.close the rear door with the front. door closed and also impossible toset the device to inoperative positions. With these thoughts in mindthis invention contemplates a latch inserted in the post between thefront and rear door of a vehicle in which the rear door may be closedwith the front door closed and in which both ends thereof may be set toinoperative positions.

The object of this invention is to provide a` latch for locking reardoors of motor vehicles having front and rear doors wherein the partsthereof may be set to inoperative positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rear door latch formotor vehicles that may readily be installed in the post between thefront and rear doors of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock for rear doors ofmotor vehicles having front and rear doors that permits closing the reardoor with the front door closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide v i claim.I (ol. 2924er)a. rear door latch for motor vehicles having four doors which is of asimple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionconsists of the new and useful combination, construction, andarrangement of parts as more fully described herein, set forth in theclaim appended hereto, and disclosed in the accompanying drawingsforming part hereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View showing a side elevation of a post between front andrear doors of a motor vehicle with the improved latch incorporatedtherein and with the upper and lower ends broken away.

Figure 2 is a plan view showing the post in outline and illustrating theposition of the latch therein.

Figure 3 is a sectional plan through the post,

latch, and associated edges of the front and rear doors with the frontdoor partlyv closed.

.ml-figure` 4 is a similanview-showing the doors closedu' .Y

Figure 5 isa sectional plan on an enlarged scale takenon linee-5f ofFigure 1 illustrati-ng the latch with the front door button extended andwith the rear door lock bolt Withdrawn.

/ :Figure 6 isa vertical section through the post and latch taken onlinefEo-I of Figure 2 with the parts thepcsiticn as shown in Figure `5,Figure 7^; is, a detail showing; a face plate as used; .on the reardoor side of: the. post.

Fieure is a detail showing, the `face plate used on theiront door side0I thepost.

Y. Referringnowto vvthe drawinss wherein .like reference charactersindicate corresponding parts the rear door latch of this inventionincludes a square button I0 having a lock bolt II telescoping therein,an inner spring I2, an outer spring I3, and faceplates Ifi and I5.

The Vbutton iii is formed with a tubular shell I6 and a flange I issecured to the outer surface in an inclined position corresponding withthe slope of the surface It of the post IQ, and with the face plate Itsecured to the surface I8 by screws in openings 20 thereof the latchwill be retained in the post with the Ibutton I projecting through asquare opening 2l in the face plate. The entire latch may vbe removedfrom the post by removing the four screws 22 of the face plate.

The lock bolt Il is slidably mounted in the tubular shell I6 of thebutton and the bolt is resiliently held outward by the spring I2 thatextends into a socket 23. The outward movement of the bolt is limited byngers 2t and 25 on the end of the shell I6 which extend into a slot 26in the bolt as shown in Figure 6, and these fingers also draw the boltinward as the button is forced outward `by the spring I3 when the frontdoor is opened. The outer end of the lock bolt is beveled to correspondwith the slope of the surface 2l of the post is and the inner cornerthereof is provided with a notch 28 that may be snapped over an edge 29of the face plate I5 to hold the bolt in the post. The face plate I5 isprovided with inwardly extending guides 3i), 3i, and 32 around threesides of an opening 33 therein to retain the end of the bolt in positionand the plate is secured on the surface 2l of the post by screws 34 inopenings 35 in the plate.

`The surfaces I8 and 2'I of the post I9 are provided with openings 36and 3l in which the latch is installed and the edge 38 of the rear door39 is provided with a socket 40 to receive the end of the lock bolt, asshown in Figure 4. The inner corner of the rear door may be providedwith a beveled surface 4l and the corresponding corner of the front door42 may have a beveled surface 43 to facilitate sliding the latchelements inward as the doors are closed.

With the parts arranged in this manner the lock bolt l I may be held inthe post by snapping the notch 28 over the edge of the face plate andthe button "I may be pressed inward by the thumb or a finger and bymoving it slightly toward one side it will engage the inner surface ofthe face plate I4 and be retained in the post thereby. The parts mayalso be released and as the front door is closed the bottom lIl) will beforced inward which will release the lock bolt and the spring I2 willactuate the bolt to the outward position in which it will snap into thesocket 40 in the rear door. Should the rear door be ropen it may beclosed and the bolt, will be forced inward until it snaps into thesocket wherein the rear door will be locked until the front door isopened. It will be understood that modicationsmay be made in the designand arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is: In a motor vehicle rear door safety latch, thcombination which comprises a lock bolt rectangular shaped in crosssection having a beveled outer end corresponding with the bevel surfaceof a post between a front and rear door of a vehicle, and having asocket in the inner end, a tubular button rectangular shaped in crosssection and 3 having a flange on the outer surface positioned 4 at anangle in relation to the button corresponding to the angle ofinclination of the surface of the said post, between the front and reardoors of the vehicle, said button slidably mounted on said lock bolt, aspring in the button with one end extended into the socket in the innerend of the said lock bolt, said lock bolt having a slot therethrough andsaid button having fingers on the inner end extended into thewsaid slotof the lock bolt for preventing accidental separation of the button fromthe lock bolt, a spring around said lock bolt and button positioned withone end against the angularly positioned ange of the button and theother against the inner surface of the said post on the side thereof inwhich the said lock bolt is positioned, a face plate having an openingwith inwardly extended guides on the The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent: i y 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date y 1,037,302 Parent Sept. 2, 1912 1,240,086 Parker Sept. 11,y1917 1,790,104

Levitt et al. Jan. 27, 1931v

